if this thought was a bomb that was tripped by desire
by Lugian Before Swine
Summary: College AU. Goto works in the student organizations department of his college, and one day he gets a call about starting a very strange club. Oneshot.


**A/N: I had to write a Samurai Flamenco fic. I...I just had to. Hope you enjoy it! (PS: I plan to also post this on AO3, but it seems the site is currently down, so it will be on there as soon as possible!)**

* * *

He has five minutes to go before his shift is over, and he's on the phone with some idiot freshman who doesn't know when to stop talking.

"A superhero club," he repeats incredulously.

"Yes!" says Excited Freshman. "I know the school doesn't have one yet, and I can't imagine why not!"

Goto sighs. He makes sure to do it loudly enough that the other party can be sure to hear it. "And what exactly would this club do? What would its activities be?" Is this even worth writing down? Surely his supervisor would just look at it and laugh.

"Well, we'd watch superhero shows for inspiration, of course, and we'd also work on developing our own superhero personas. Then, when we felt we were ready, we could take on the crimes that occur all too frequently on campus! I've read every report from the campus police that I could find, and—"

"Whoa, whoa," Goto cuts him off. "Are you implying that you intend to replace the police?" He tries to keep as much incredulity out of his voice as possible, for politeness' sake, but seeing as he's graduating with a degree in criminal justice in a little over a semester, this task is difficult.

"Of course not!" Excited Freshman replies. "We would want to work with the police. They deserve our respect, after all, as they too seek to uphold justice in—"

"Yes, yes, all right," Goto says hurriedly, before the kid can continue his rant. "I'll…I'll inform my supervisor of your intentions."

"Great!" the kid chirps.

"And I'll call you back when I have more information for you. Can you repeat your name and give me a callback number, please?"

Hazama Masayoshi, or Excited Freshman as he will always be known in Goto's mind, gives him his number and hangs up, but not before profusely thanking Goto for his time.

After writing down the relevant information, Goto stands up and prepares to close the office. That was certainly the strangest club idea he's received in a while.

* * *

Five days later, Goto is tasked with calling Hazama to inform him that his supervisor would like to meet with him to discuss the details of the club.

(Goto can't believe that his supervisor is seriously considering it, but it doesn't really concern him, after all.)

Hazama is, predictably, overjoyed. "Wow, thank you so much, Goto-san! When should I come in?"

Goto gives him a day and time and tells him to dress in business casual and bring along a written copy of any ideas he has. When he hangs up, he thinks that maybe the kid didn't sound quite as annoying as last time, which is strange, but there's something to be said for people who are passionate about something. Even if that something is incredibly weird.

* * *

Goto is not in the office when Hazama arrives for his interview, but he is there as the kid leaves.

Hazama is smiling happily as he exits the sectioned-off portion of the office belonging to Goto's supervisor, and when he rounds the corner and spots Goto, who is currently slumped over paperwork at his desk, his smile gets even wider. "Goto-san!" he chirps excitedly. "It's so nice to meet you in person!"

Goto twitches—_how does he know it's me?_—before remembering that he wears a nametag.

He looks up. "It's nice to meet you…too…" he trails off. Well, shit. How could he have known that Excited Freshman could just as easily be regarded as Attractive Freshman? He coughs to cover up his momentary loss of brain function, and then asks, "How did the meeting go?"

"I think it went really well! Apparently there are just a few things that I need to change and some other stuff that I think you're gonna have to look over." He smiles a little sheepishly. "Sorry for the trouble."

"That's not—" Goto begins, and then realizes he has no idea where that sentence was going. "It's fine. It's my job."

Hazama beams at him. Goto almost wants to shield his eyes. "Well, thanks for taking the time to help me with this, anyway. I know it might seem kind of crazy, but I think it's really important. I love this school and I just want to make sure all the students are safe and happy. Don't you think that's reasonable, Goto-san?"

Well. Yes. It is. He says as much. "Of course it is. Every student's safety is important."

"I'm glad you agree!"

There's a pause. Goto wonders if he should simply hunch back over his desk and hope Hazama will take the hint, but he can't quite force himself to break their eye contact.

Hazama clears his throat. "Well, I should probably let you get back to work, huh?"

Goto makes a noncommittal noise.

"Right, I guess I'll see you later, then!" Hazama says, a bit hurriedly, and with a wave, he's out the door.

Goto stares after him for a solid ten seconds before he hears his supervisor's footsteps, and then immediately goes back to marking up the paperwork in front of him. Damn that stupid kid and his stupid face, he thinks irritably, even as he hopes that they'll see each other again soon.

* * *

'Soon' comes quicker than Goto had anticipated. Two days later, he's walking back to his apartment after his last class of the day, spots Hazama on the opposite side of the street, about to cross, and has a tiny internal dilemma. Should he keep walking and pretend that he doesn't see him? Even if he did that, the kid would probably spot him and call out to him, and that would just make a scene and he doesn't need that and yeah, okay, he'll wait here for him but only because he wants to be as discreet as possible.

As it turns out, the kid doesn't see him even after they're on the same side of the street, and Goto panics for a fraction of a second before calling out "Hazama."

Hazama turns around and smiles when he recognizes the source of the voice. "Hi! I wasn't expecting to see you today!"

Well, obviously. Goto pinches the bridge of his nose and breathes out. Just what the hell is he getting himself into? "I'm just on the way back to my apartment. Where are you headed?"

"Back to my dorm," Hazama answers immediately. "Or, well, I might go to a cafeteria first. I haven't eaten yet today."

Goto takes approximately two seconds to analyze his life choices, then tells himself _fuck it_, and says, "Do you wanna get dinner somewhere?"

Hazama's eyes go comically wide. It would be endearing were it not a little creepy. "Yeah!" he says quickly. "Where?"

"Ahh," Goto stalls. He did not think this far ahead. "Well, where would you like to go?"

* * *

They end up at a Thai place on the main stretch of restaurants near campus, and it is here that Goto quickly discovers that he's besotted. For all the seemingly nonsensical things that Hazama says, there's always a current of determination and passion running underneath them, and it soon becomes clear that their goals align, they've just chosen to go about them in very different ways. For one thing, Hazama is a fashion design major, which Goto very nearly scoffs at before remembering that he's trying to make a good impression. Hazama positively lights up when he learns that Goto is planning to become a police officer, and proceeds to call it destiny that they had met.

(It also helps that Hazama is 19, which makes 21-year-old Goto feel less creepy about the whole freshman-senior thing.)

They end up staying at the restaurant far past the completion of their meal, and the slightly irritable waitress proceeds to become more and more irritable until they finally take the hint and leave (Hazama tips generously as an apology.)

"Well," Goto begins as they reach the point where they have to go in different directions, "that was—"

"Is the phone you called me from an office phone?" Hazama cuts him off, and then immediately ducks his head. Goto is pretty sure he's blushing, but it's dark out, so it's hard to tell. Well. That makes something in his stomach flip in a not-at-all unpleasant way.

"Yeah," he says, trying to keep his voice as steady as possible, and then, "Here. Put in your number," he says, holding out his cellphone.

Hazama looks up and grins, reaching into his pocket to find his own phone, which he trades with Goto's.

"Thanks," Hazama says simply once they have their own phones back. "Umm…do you have any news about my club yet? Probably not, right?"

"Not yet, no," Goto answers. This conversation is getting awkward, not at all like their conversation in the restaurant. He should end it before he says something stupid. "I'll let you know when I hear anything."

"Great!" Hazama says. He toes the sidewalk. "Well, uhh, goodnight."

"Goodnight," Goto answers, and Hazama flashes him a slightly strained smile before he quickly sets off in the direction of his dorm.

Goto stands there for a few seconds, watching him go.

Well.

This could be very good or very bad.

* * *

The following day, Goto's supervisor informs him that Hazama's club has been approved, with one minor detail to work out: a club needs at least two people to be an official student organization.

Goto calls Hazama to deliver this news, and he has to pull the receiver away from his face to avoid rupturing an eardrum.

"YES! I'm so happy! I knew the school would like the idea, but I was still a little nervous about getting it approved, but I'm so, so glad I did! And you were such a huge help, Goto-san; thank you so much! I'm so glad you're the person I talked to first!"

"Yes, yes, you're welcome," Goto says quickly, even as his heart stutters a little from the praise. "There's one thing you need to do before the club can become official, though."

"What's that?" Hazama asks eagerly.

"You need at least one more member. Every club has to have at least two members to be an official student organization."

"Oh!" Hazama says, "is that all? I'm sure I could find plenty of people who'd be willing to join. I just need an effective marketing campaign."

"I suppose," Goto says. He pauses. "Good luck," he adds, when Hazama doesn't say anything.

Goto waits. Hazama still hasn't spoken. "Hazama?" he tries cautiously.

"I have something to ask you," Hazama says finally. "Could we meet up tomorrow?"

And Goto knows what Hazama's going to ask, knows that he's going to say yes, knows that with each time they talk to each other he sinks a little deeper into this inescapable pit of affection. "Of course," he says before he can think about how eager that sounds. "What time?"

* * *

Hazama asks Goto to be the second club member—"Just until I can get more people! It'll be easier to market it if it's already an official club, right?"—just as Goto had predicted. And Goto agrees, just as he knew he would. The smile that lights up Hazama's face as he exclaims "You're the best, Goto-san!" makes it worth it, however, and it also makes Goto say:

"You can call me Hidenori."

Hazama blinks. "Oh," he says. The smile gets bigger. "Oh. Then you have to call me Masayoshi!"

Goto just smiles. He is doomed.

* * *

Two weeks after Goto officially becomes the second member of the Superhero Club, he and Hazama are sitting on the floor of Goto's apartment, ostensibly drafting ideas for club marketing, but actually watching one of Hazama's favorite superhero shows, which Goto finds to be not as awful as he had anticipated. The action parts are exciting, at least, even if he doesn't quite buy into all the slightly extremist morality aspects.

At some point, probably shortly after midnight, it had been tacitly decided that Hazama was going to spend the night, or at least Goto could assume that this was Hazama's thought too, seeing as the kid was passed out on the floor, drooling slightly on the carpet.

Goto turns off the TV and waits a few seconds. Hazama doesn't stir. There's a faint light coming from the kitchen area, enough that Goto can make out the features of Hazama's face. He's not staring, he tells himself, he's just observing. And also lying to himself.

God, this is cheesy and awful and Goto never meant to actually fall for this kid, but at some point it had become an inevitability, something that he couldn't avoid even if he had wanted to.

As it stands, he most certainly does not want to avoid this. In fact, he wants to keep moving in this direction. He wants to talk to Hazama about his crazy ideals and maybe try to understand them; he wants to make him smile and laugh and cause his eyes to light up; he wants to wrap his arms around his waist and run his fingers through his hair and maybe if he's lucky he'll even get to kiss him—

Hazama is looking at him. Goto turns away and absolutely cannot help the color that rises to his cheeks. What the hell was he thinking, Hazama is younger and passionate and caring to a fault and there's nothing all that appealing about Goto himself, after all.

"Hidenori," Hazama says quietly, and Goto's eyes snap back to him. When did Hazama sit up and also get so much closer?

There's this dumb constricting feeling in Goto's chest and he feels kind of nauseous but all he can say is "Yeah?" and then Hazama's breath is on his face and Goto's absolutely rushing to bridge the gap between them and he finds that he doesn't care at all.

That is, until Hazama lets out a little squeak against his mouth and Goto nearly leaps backwards in an effort to get away from him. "What? What? Oh my God, did—"

"Sorry!" Hazama cries immediately. "It's just that…I wasn't really expecting you to…well—I kind of expected you to reject me, honestly."

Goto stares at him. Are his eyes watering? No, that's gotta be a trick of the light. "Why—" he begins, and then takes a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. "No," he says finally. "I…how could I possibly reject you? I mean, yeah, you're kind of ridiculous and at first I thought you were annoying and maybe a little bit crazy but—" He stops when he sees the look on Hazama's face, and desperately tries to backtrack. "I didn't mean it like that! And now I know you're friendly and passionate and good-natured and also, damn, really attractive—" _Did I actually just say that?_ he thinks as Hazama's mouth falls open—"and anyway, I really like you, Masayoshi." He covers his face with his hands. With that said, there's no reason to hide, but he can't help it.

Hazama is grinning from ear to ear. "I can't believe you just said all that. I'm so happy right now, I don't…I can't…" he trails off, looks around a little nervously, and then his eyes finally settle back on Goto, whose face is now uncovered. "Can I please kiss you again?"

"You don't have to ask," is the quick response, and Hazama's giggles are promptly cut off.

* * *

(Later that night, as they lay side-by-side in Goto's bed, Hazama whispers, "You're going to be the hottest of cops," and Goto attacks him with a pillow.)


End file.
